Alabama town's dry Oktoberfest finally goes wet

View full sizeAssociated PressOrganizers tapped a keg for the first time Monday at Cullman's Oktoberfest

CULLMAN, Ala. — With German roots and Bible Belt values, the north Alabama town of Cullman marked Oktoberfest for decades with oompah music, lederhosen and bratwurst, but no beer.

Now the party long billed as the world’s only dry Oktoberfest is finally going wet.

Organizers tapped a keg for the first time Monday at Cullman’s Oktoberfest, ending an autumn prohibition in a town of 14,000 that had banned alcohol sales outright until church leaders lost that fight last fall.

In a compromise aimed partly at helping ease the concerns of townspeople who worried about adding booze to the party, there was still an alcohol-free side to the celebration located about 50 yards away under a big, open shed.